A dimwit female. The phrase was popularized by George Burns and Gracie Allen's vaudeville act in which Gracie played the hysterically illogical character that she later made famous under her own name during the pair's radio and television career. Chic Young, better known for his Blondie comic strip, illustrated a foolish flapper named Dumb Dora. The cartoon lasted under several other illustrators from 1924 till 1935, well before “dumb blonde” became all the rage.